Dance of the Dreamscape
by Amber Cloud
Summary: Complete. Kari Spiritwalker is back, the Dominion is not after Mutant X, someone really different is. There's a crossover, there's some serious Jesse angst, and well, read and review, please!
1. Default Chapter

Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer- This is fanfic. The following characters don't belong to me, they belong to Marvel, thanks Stan. Don't sue me, I don't have money.

A/N-Yep. Kari Spiritwalker is back, and this is about a day after "The Assault". I told you there was more to her. And hey, if you review it, I'll love you forever.

Chapter 1

Kari Spiritwalker sat up screaming. Her bed was covered in sweat, her hair was matted around her face and she had to blink several times before the reality that she was in her darkened Seattle bedroom took hold of her senses. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes with her fingers, trying to get the sleep out.

The nightmare was way too real. Jesse Kilmartin, Shalimar Fox, Lexa Pierce and Brennan Mulwray, her friends, her allies, and her fellow mutants were hurt. Sanctuary, a place that she had found sanctuary when she had needed it lay in tattered ruins. Hell, even the Helix had been destroyed in her dreams. The nagging thought that it may not have been a simple nightmare began to nag at her as she got up and started for the shower. Something was very wrong.

The hot water didn't help. She was clean, but the nagging instinct played at her nerves. She reached for the cell phone and dialed the number she knew by heart, but hadn't dialed in months. It went directly to voicemail.

_Thanks for calling, but I'm way too busy right now. Leave the usual and I'll get back to you... _

Kari smiled at the sound of Jesse's voice. Even though she didn't see him as much as used to, he still had the sound that made her heart sing. She sat at her computer and logged in, something telling her that the answer lay in email.

As the message flashed, she knew something was horribly wrong. The message was one she hoped to never see, but as a safehouse leader, she was in the loop to get one. Sanctuary's main computers were gone, the message one of absolute mainframe failure and the networking of all safehouses going into a dump bin warning. Their network was offline. Permanently.

Kari gulped and read the mail, trying to quiet the nag that played along her spine. It was bad and she knew that she had to go do something about it. Now.

The Harley had been a gift from her father. She rode it quickly into the rising sun, her long black hair braided behind her head, leather jacket warming her from the morning chill. She was headed for the ferry, she was going to Vancouver and their safehouse, because instinct told her that they would be there.

Reaching the ferry, she parked the bike, found a seat and closed her eyes. From the outward appearance, she seemed to be sleeping, and she was in such a receptive state, she stepped into the dreamscape. She had gotten much better at this since her time at Sanctuary, she had spent time with Charles Xavier at his school and was now able to control a doorway into this state. She knew what to do, and even had an idea of who to ask.

Standing in front of her memory of a beautiful Zen garden, Kari waited for Emma DeLauro. She knew the mutant only from the descriptions that her friends gave her of when she was alive, and she knew the power that the mutant had once had when she had bridged a visitation for her friends. Emma appeared quickly and her face told her the story. The nightmare had been real.

"How bad is it?" she asked, reading the emotion in the spirit's reaction to her presence.

"Bad," Emma's eyes met hers, "You know how bad. They are hurting and they need help."

Kari nodded. She knew that. How to help them was a bigger question.

"But how," she asked, Emma's ghost giving her no reply.

Somehow she knew, it was time to wake up.

She opened her eyes to the skyline of Vancouver. The ferry was almost there.

The route to the Vancouver safehouse was not easy. Adam Kane had arranged the safehouses to look just like youth hostels. Not only did it make for an emergency home for traveling mutants, but also, made the houses a small fortune from the traveling youth across the country. Usually the safehouse managers were the motherly type, blind to the abilities of the houseguests. Kari fit the bill of the overworked hostel manager, but she knew the house managers like a subfamily, because she ran the backup network.

She turned onto the tree-lined highway and looked toward the mountain ranges. She had agreed to the blinders that all visitors to Sanctuary had to wear on their first visits, but she knew where it was the instant that Jesse had turned hers off. Too many summers on the reservation told her where the mountains were and her time with Uncle Logan had made her a pretty fair tracker.

She turned the bike onto the dirt path that she knew lead to the safehouse manager's cabin. The cabin was non-descrip, small, and covered in pine trees. It looked completely undisturbed, but her instincts were screaming again.

She parked, grabbed her pack and slowly headed into the cabin, knowing the hiding place of the key. The light played in the cabin as the afternoon sun had settled in the sky and Kari looked for any sign of life. The patterns of dust on the floor were key.

"Lexa, it's me, Kari," she said to the dark corner.

Light refracted back as the sun moved and Lexa Pierce was standing in front of her.

"Thank god," Lexa said, "Were you followed?"

"No, I don't think so," Kari replied, her eyes meeting hers, "How bad is it?"

"Somewhat bad," Lexa's reply was muffled as she started hunting for the trap door built into the floor, "But, come downstairs and see for yourself."

Pulling the trapdoor open, Lexa motioned for Kari to follow her. Kari followed, her aversion to small places running to the back of her mind, but her sense of urgency overwhelming her senses. The hallway was pitch black, but Lexa put a hand up, light generating from her fingers and enabling Kari to follow her. They turned a corner and were met with light, this time light from a work area.

Shalimar looked up and smiled. To see the young Native American woman there was a relief.

"Fancy meeting you here," she laughed, "So you were the visitor?"

"Yes, unless someone else knows where this place is, where are the guys?" Kari asked, swinging her pack down next to the work bench, "I brought some protein bars, a first aid kit and some water if you guys need it. What happened?"

"It's a very long story," Shalimar said, moving back toward the large computer bank behind her, "The short form is that Sanctuary is no more, we lost the Helix and we're stuck."

"Not stuck, just displaced," Kari smiled at Shalimar, "Got to look at the bright side. Where's Adam?"

"That story is for Jess, Kari," Shalimar said, looking into the bag Kari proffered, "You know the backup codes for here?"

"Yep," Kari said, as she started with the keyboards, "But isn't this Jess' domain?"

"We're letting him sleep," Brennan interrupted from his place at the door, "Nice to see you Kari, I got the power running, but it's blinking far too much for my taste."

"Let me at it then," Kari went for the main keyport/terminal that was next to the bank of computers, "This shouldn't take too long. Are you guys all okay?"

Shalimar sat back, the bench seat in the cave being one of the few places to sit. Brennan joined her, the look in her eyes told him not to say too much.

"Yeah, I think we are," Brennan commented, "How did you find out?"

"Two ways," Kari answered but didn't meet his gaze, "You know that Adam built in a large contingency network for the safehouses, right?"

"Jesse had mentioned that," Lexa said, settling in with Shalimar and Brennan, "You had an alert sent out?"

"Almost instantly," Kari replied, as the lights completely came on in the room, "There you go, now where's Jesse?"


	2. Chapter 2

Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer-I play in a world that I do not own. I don't do this for money, so, don't sue me, I don't have money. And I wouldn't be able to do any of this if it wasn't for the original works of Stan Lee-Thank you from the bottom of my heart Stan.

Authors Note-

Eight Reviews? I feel like Sally Field. You like me, you really like me....Let me know what you think about the rest of this as it goes along. My warnings are that yes, there will be some interesting stuff in future chapters. Yes, I live very much with the cave thoughts of many in a rebuilt Sanctuary, but, what else can occur? And who else, other than the Dominion may be after them? Animiga-Cliffhangers? What Cliff---------

Chapter 2

Jesse Kilmartin was beneath them. The cave complex reached down for two miles, leaving the team to create needs for the many rooms, and level two had become their bedroom areas. They were Spartan, usually just a cot, a camp stove and very little light, since the main power had not been relayed yet.

He lay on a cot in what had become his room. Brennan had told Kari that he was pretty beaten up from the experience with the Dominion and had fallen dead asleep on the keyboards about an hour before she got there. He had carried him to the room, Jesse not moving, just unconscious from lack of sleep. The lights had flickered on in his room when Kari got the computers up and running and she ran the upload to convert the mainframe there to run like Sanctuary's did. The safehouses were back online and the panic that having Sanctuary gone could now stop.

She walked slowly into his room and stared at his sleeping form. He looked so young and innocent when he slept. Instantly she missed his quick smile and twinkle in his eyes. The fury of the past few days had settled onto his face, but the wounds were healing. Brennan had warned her that he had been beaten up when he refused to give up any information on Mutant X, or the database, or their friends.

'Typical Jesse,' she thought to herself as she moved toward him, 'Protecting everyone.' She gently sat on the edge of the cot and brushed a lock of hair off of his face. His eyes opened and he looked at her, his hand grabbing hers.

"Hey there," she said softly, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Kari? I didn't expect to see you," Jesse's voice was deep and soft, "When did you get here?"

Kari looked at her watch. Night had fallen during her installation.

"This afternoon," she said, "You've been out a couple of hours according to Brennan. He said you needed it, and you were to stay here."

Jesse smiled slightly and tried to sit up. She helped him, slowly pulling him up with his good hand.

"Wait a second, there's light in here," he said, looking around, "Your doing?"

"Yep, I had the install codes sent to me by Sanctuary's computer," Kari couldn't help but feel like a computer geek, "I have you running here with Sanctuary's access to the mainframes of the safehouses, but the decode keys are still all yours."

Jesse tapped his temple with his bandaged fingers.

"And they are still in here," Jesse said, a tone of bitterness in his voice, "Where's the rest of the gang? Did they tell you what happened? And how did you know to come here?"

"First question, back in the main lab, setting up some form of base for you guys. I lent Brennan my bike to get you guys some supplies," Kari got up and paced the room, "No, they didn't tell me what happened, they saved that for you, and as for coming here, I'm a primary code holder. Adam made me one, remember? This address came up, Lexa found me upstairs. What happened Jesse? Why did you blow up Sanctuary?"

Jesse sighed. Even thought it was two days ago, it felt like months ago. He motioned for her to sit back down and started his long explanation. He had a hard time looking at her during his explanation, it was a hard story to tell and he was still coming to grips with it himself. Kari was stunned by the story. It fit the imagery of her nightmare perfectly, but Adam's case was one for the books. He was a clone?

Kari shook her head in shock. She got back up and paced. It was nearly impossible to imagine all the destruction that they had been through. Jesse looked haunted.

"Okay, what next?" she asked, watching Jesse's reaction to her movements, "You guys have any plans on how to continue? I know this contingency plan is only for so long. Do you want to contact Xavier? You tell me Jesse."

"This isn't my whole decision, Kari," Jesse said, standing up slowly, "There's so much to do, we could use the help of the everyone, but, where are we if we can't function by ourselves. The thing about Xavier is that he would want to help, but he would want us to function by ourselves. He and Adam are all about that."

"Are the funds available to rebuild?" Kari asked, "Because you could do it here, this is a distant enough place to rebuild the computers, but, you need transport, food, supplies..."

"Thanks for the laundry list," Jesse said, slowly standing up, "We're all aware of that, Kari, and I am still trying to figure out how to do all of it."

"Let me help you then, I can do it, you know, and I think we can get this up and running rather quickly," Kari put the plans together aloud, "You'll need more transport, I know that there are some vans and cars available from the Vancouver safehouse, and I know where foodstuffs are readily available. You need other help, I'll find it. Jesse, you guys helped me when I really needed it, let me help you now."

Jesse nodded. It looked like Kari Spiritwalker was back in his life once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Legal Disclaimer- I dance in a universe that I do not own. Kari Spiritwalker is mine, you can have if you want her, she's for sale. As for the Mutant X gang, well, get on with it, people, we need another season...

Author notes-I know that some of you are getting this as two chapters at once, aren't you happy. Thank you more than you know for the reviews. Yes, I will get more to it, there's some scary stuff a coming folks, I warn you...not in this chapter-it's just the setup.

Kari Spiritwalker left the lives of the Mutant X team shortly after she entered it. She had been tossed into their lives as an earthquake in San Francisco destroyed the safehouse that she ran. She also had a surge in her own abilities that had dragged every single member of Mutant X into the dreamscape, providing them some much needed closure over the death of Emma deLauro. This surge had been studied by Jesse, but her controls had been sharpened by several months of time with Charles Xavier at his school for gifted students.

She was still the same Kari that Jesse had known from vids and emails though, she was quiet, tough, smarter than most and a whiz at programming. That was the biggest help as Jesse struggled to get the computers online. Her level of control was an entirely different issue.

She was still embarrassed by the night she was the channel for all of them to be in one dream. It had given her an insight into how they treated people, but at the same time, she felt like she had invaded their trust and she hated herself for it.

The only person who knew how she felt was Jesse. He had helped her. He studied her and her powers for a short time after that, growing closer to her than she had let someone be for quite a while.

They had a bond grow from that time, one that worked well in the rebuilding of the headquarters of Mutant X. Shalimar, Brennan and Lexa worked together in putting together the physical structure of the new base of operations, working out the logistics of entrances and exits, the stocking of foodstuffs, and trying to figure out a way to build a new vehicle. Luckily for their ground transport, Kari was able to line up a van, a truck and a small economy car for their travels.

Kari worried about Jesse though. Since her waking him up nearly a week ago, he had barely slept, spending hours re-wiring the mainframe that occupied the Underground, as they were now calling it. She helped him as much as she could, learning as much as she could from his work. He joked with her, laughed with her, but she could tell he needed to relax before he popped.

Brennan was the largest help with that. The elemental was more than a friend to Jesse, he was an older brother who knew when to pull the plug on the molecular's workaholic habits. He knew that it would take diversions to get him out of the lab, and with Kari's help, he set up a dojo inside the Underground. It was lit brightly, and reminded her of the one time that Uncle Logan let her see the Danger Room at Xavier's School. She did the programming of her own version of the danger room for this team, putting in more fights than Brennan could dream of, some cat and lion based fights for Shalimar, fights in the dark and with light refracted opponents for Lexa and a personal favorite for Jesse, Kari Spiritwalker's own Bruce Lee inspired programming. Brennan was itching to try it, but he waited for the day to test Kari.

She was also looking for a good stress release. She walked into the dojo and bowed, crouching into a defense position near the aikido pole that Brennan had left for her. She stood up and twirled it as Brennan brought his own to face him.

"So, what do you think it will take to get Jess out of that lab?" Brennan asked, stretching with the pole as he looked at her, "You think that he'll ever come out?"

"I told him I would make dinner if he did, and he seemed unaffected by that," Kari replied, tapping his pole slightly, "I thought you challenged me, Brennan Mulwray. If this is your idea of distraction, it's not working."

Brennan smiled. Kari was a fun opponent. He knew she was powerful in some ways, it would be great to see if she was a good fighter as well. He started toward her, the pole pulled in a defensive move, when he suddenly found himself sitting on his rear end. She put a hand out to help him up.

He laughed.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" he asked, more shocked than surprised.

"Grandpa," Kari laughed, "Needed to make sure his grandkids could defend themselves."

Brennan stood up and pulled back on his right foot.

"He's a good teacher," Brennan's reply was with a deadly smile, "You want to see how I learned?"

She smiled, tilted her head and went for it. The two of them turned and battled, poles making cracking sounds as they turned, back and forth, the battle perfectly matched. She turned back toward him, stopped as she saw a figure standing in the doorway and was hit in the head by Brennan's pole.

She dropped to ground instantly. She was conscious, but it hurt.

"Damn Kari, are you okay?" Brennan asked, dropping his pole with a thud and coming to her side.

She nodded, waiting for the ringing to stop. The figure in the doorway was at her other side.

"Christ, Kari, I didn't mean to distract you, you okay?" Jesse's apology was appreciated, but the sound of churchbells was messing with her reality.

She took a second longer then opened her eyes. Jesse and Brennan's faces met her pained glance.

"Well, that wasn't supposed to happen," she said, standing up slowly, "You got me good Brennan."

"Yeah, I guess I did. You sure you're okay?" Brennan met her dazed look with concern, "That was pretty hard. Jesse can be distracting."

"Yeah, when I am beating you," Jesse replied, putting a hand on the area where Kari was hit, "Are you really okay, Kari?"

The touch hurt badly.

"Actually, I'm not," Kari put her hand on Jesse's, "That hurt."

"Into the medlab with you then," Jesse put an arm around her shoulders and lead her from the cave, "Brennan, I could use some help."

Brennan shut down the room and followed them. Jesse gently led her to the medical bed that he had set up in the medical lab. He had her lay back and ran a medical scan. Brennan helped him by checking the wiring and keeping Kari laughing when it took a while. Jesse looked at the scans, frowned, then scanned again.

Kari noticed the look.

"That's way too intense a look, Jess, am I okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so, you said you heard bells when Brennan clocked you?" Jesse started, staring at the screen.

"Yep, sure did, loud bells," she turned her head to his comment, staring at him, "That's a sign of concussion, yes?"

"That's what I was looking for and there isn't one," Jesse said, "But you should have one, Kari. There's a lot of blood vessel damage but no concussion."

"Okay, so she follows the concussion protocol, and we wait and see, right?" Brennan had found a chair to sit and read the results, "I don't think I clocked her."

"Brennan, it was a stupid accident, no worries," Kari replied, "I'm just glad it's not one."

"Me too," Jesse interrupted, "We can't lose you."

"Have I become indispensable already?" Kari stretched, her back feeling stiff, "Or do you need someone else to data input?"

Brennan couldn't help but smile. Kari knew how to slam Jesse with the best of them. Jesse didn't look so good though. The lack of sleep was aging him more than he liked to see.

"No, no, Brennan can now type for you," Jesse yawned.

Kari stared at him.

"Jesse Kilmartin, when was the last time that you slept?" she asked it, knowing that the adrenaline from her accident probably pulled even more energy out of him.

"Yesterday, mother," Jesse replied, "Look, Kari I appreciate it, but..."

Kari took a second, stood up and faced him. Her head hurt, but the painkillers he gave her had kicked in, and she felt finally steady.

"Jesse, you need to sleep, do it, I have the computer system," she said, "Sleep please."

Jesse nodded. He knew she was right. He would go back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer- It's called Fanfic. It's not meant to be sold, there is no money being made off of this, it's just a chance for me to blow off creative steam and have a little fun. Suing me is not the way. I don't have money, I have a mortgage to pay.

Authors Note-Guys, I love you for the reviews. You all rock. Due to an unwanted gift at work and the trade in policy at Best Buy, I now own most of season two. It's amazing how a DVD can give you more of an idea of how the show works. Thank God.

Yes, there is some Jesse started angst in here. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 4

Sleep was the best and worst thing that Jesse Kilmartin could do. His body, overworked and still healing from his torture session at the hands of the Dominion demanded the time to heal and rebuild. He lay quietly, his breathing slow and shallow, his mind on a journey far away from the cave that he and his friends now lived in.

The slam of a Genomax stasis pod is one sound that a person, mutant or otherwise, never forgets. The feeling of isolation is one of the first things that could cause stasis madness, as the techs at Genomax called it, and for Jesse, it was something that he hid deep in his subconscious. It only came around to visit his nightmares and this time, he wasn't surprised it came calling. His stress level was the certain trigger.

He shifted, trying to forget the sound, trying to think of anything else that didn't play on his senses, but the muffled sound of someone talking held. He opened his eyes and realized instantly that he was still asleep, but his vision was that of being inside the pod yet again. He opened his mouth the scream, and realized that there was no sound. He was trapped inside the pod. He tried screaming again.

In the conscious world, the sound of his scream was heard by only one of his friends. Shalimar Fox bolted from her seat at the computer bank and ran for Jesse's room, Brennan, Lexa and Kari in tow. As she reached his room, she nearly ripped the door from its hinges to witness Jesse in the throes of a nightmare. He was phasing in and out, just enough to cause an effect on the bedsheets, then stopped as he tried to scream again.

Shalimar started to touch his shoulder, hopefully to get him out of the nightmare he seemed to be in the clutches of. He started to phase again and stopped, becoming whole and looking tortured. Something bizarre was going on.

Brennan came up behind her and stopped her.

"Don't, we don't what kind of state he is in," Brennan said, watching his friends state in total disbelief, "Something is very wrong here."

Jesse's solid state held and Kari flew past Brennan, grabbing Jesse's hand. With that one touch, she slipped into the dreamscape and into his nightmare. Jesse was pounding on the cover of the stasis pod, his knuckles bloody. She pounded back, trying to get his attention out of the panic he was in. He screamed again, this time stopping when he saw her face. He looked past her, the fear of this not being reality, adding to his panic.

"HELP ME!" he pleaded, not knowing if Kari was real or not.

She pulled Jesse out of the pod, working the controls by guessing. His hands grabbed her shoulders, trying to see if she was real. Discovering that she was real, he gathered her into a hug. She hugged him back, trying to calm down her shaking friend.

"It's a nightmare, Jesse," she said, putting a hand to the side of his face, "You have got to wake up."

"I can't," Jesse sounded like a little boy, "I really want to, but I can't wake up."

She took his hand in hers, trying to avoid the bloodied knuckles and yanked it. The slight pain got his attention.

"Follow me," she said, "You need to wake up, and everyone's waiting for you."

Jesse's eyes fluttered open. He was awake finally, and looking at the concerned faces of Brennan, Shalimar, and Lexa. Kari slowly came into focus, putting his hand back on his stomach, a completely unhurt hand that did hurt.

"Hi there," he said, his voice dry, "I'm sorry to call all of you to this meeting..."

Lexa tried not to laugh as Brennan and Shalimar smiled. At least he had stopped phasing in and out, while Kari slowly came back to this reality. She squeezed Jesse's hand.

"You okay?" she asked, brushing a lock of blond hair out of his eyes.

Jesse met her glance.

"Thank you," he said, "I don't ever want to go back there."

"Where was there?" Brennan asked, "You were phasing in and out, Jesse."

"I was?" Jesse always had fantastic control over his power. Only at rare times did it take over on its own.

He looked at Kari who he then realized had risked phasing in and out with him to get him out of the nightmare. She stood up.

"Where were you Jesse?" Shalimar asked.

"Genomax, in a stasis pod," Jesse said softly, "I haven't dreamed about that place in years, Shal, it was way too realistic."

Lexa shuddered. The mere thought of it was not a pleasant one. She didn't know what being in one was like, but from what the others had said, she knew how horrible it was. The look of fear in Jesse's eyes said a tremendous amount about it.

Jesse sat up slowly. He had only been asleep for a few hours, his body now acted like he had rested, but the residual effects of his nightmare hid behind his eyes. The tube had been real to him.

He closed his eyes again, opened them and looked at Shalimar. She knew what he had gone through with his time in Genomax, they talked about it on a regular basis when they had first started Mutant X, his screaming nightmares being one of the few things she could soothe. His phasing in and out in the dream was a new wrinkle though. He got up and out of bed, taking a second to move slowly and looked at his worried friends.

"I'm okay," he said, "Let's get something to eat and get back to work, guys, there are plenty of things to do."

It wasn't a snack that Kari wanted, it was information. While the others did their best to divert Jesse's attention from the nightmare, Kari went into the medlab for research of her own.

Unlike the others, she was not one who experienced the stasis pod. Adam Kane had made sure that she was treated differently when she visited Genomax. Her mutation was more hereditary than genetically engineered. Adam had just tried to control the voices that wandered through her brain at strange moments. It's not everyday that a five year old girl speaks Cherokee and does not realize it. Especially went they have never heard it.

In turn, she needed to find out more about what had happened to Jesse at Genomax. Asking him was not a question that she wanted to ask. She knew that bringing up that memory could cause him more nightmares and she preferred not to put him through them again. The file was interesting yet terrifying. Jesse's past was one that she hoped to never experience. Just reading about Jesse's experience with the stasis pods there were enough to play at her phobia of small places.

She shuddered. Jesse had gone through hell before Adam had pulled him out of there. It was amazing to her that it hadn't driven him insane, but it did explain his high threshold for stress.

"You know that you can ask me," Jesse said from behind her, his voice growing cold, "I would actually appreciate it if you did."


	5. Chapter 5

Legal disclaimer-I don't own these characters. They belong to Stan and Avi and the rest of the Marvel folks.

Authors Note- Ladies and gentlemen, the cliffhangers await. Hee hee hee-and thank you for the reviews. Hope you all are liking this one.

Chapter 5

Kari turned to face Jesse. The angry glance she met chilled her to her soul. He was very upset.

"I don't think I'm sorry is going to work, is it?" she scrambled for the right words to say.

"No, I don't think it will," Jesse said, breaking the gaze and turning from her to pace the floor of the Underground's computer lab, "What did you want to know Kari, that you don't already?"

She took a second to answer.

"I need to know what your fears are, Jess," Kari began, "Where you were a few hours ago is a place I don't know. I know now that you don't care for close places, I don't either. But Jesse, if I am ever able to help you, I need to know what I am looking at."

Jesse nodded. She was right, but she still could have simply asked.

"I know," he replied, "I know that you are helping and I am sorry that I snapped. I just never, ever want to go there again, Kari."

Kari put a hand on his shoulder. The stress of the past few weeks had caught up to both of them. He had every right in the world to be angry with her, it wasn't right that she delved into his files without permission, but the landscape of his nightmare was one she was both fascinated and terrified from. The thought of being locked in a pod was one she had hoped to never face. In turn she had felt every single moment of his fear from the second she had entered his nightmare.

Jesse yawned.

"You still tired?" she asked.

His eyes met hers again, and his mouth wandered into a smile.

"Yep, but I have miles to go before I sleep," Jesse replied, "Where are we in getting an aircraft?"

Shalimar Fox had been working as hard as everyone else and when the opportunity came for her to sleep, she ran for it. Her own cot was not as comfortable as Brennan's and she knew the package deal was Brennan in the cot with her. She curled up with her friend and feel into a well needed sleep. Brennan couldn't fall asleep as fast as she could, his mind was racing too fast with what had transpired with Kari and Jesse.

Kari was an unusual asset to the team, working very hard to put them back on track to a level where they could help everyone. She was using her contacts not just within the mutant underground, but she was also a very willing liaison to the legends of mutants, the X-men. She was to be admired, but her reaction to Jesse's nightmare was surprising. She jumped straight into Jesse's terror, not knowing how touching him could affect her.

He put an arm around Shalimar and had her settle into the crook of his arm. She had become so much closer to him since the destruction of Sanctuary. She kept him centered.

He had to protect her and Lexa. Poor Lexa. She had been so quiet since Kari had come back into their lives, he knew that she liked the Native American, but Kari could get under Jesse's skin faster than she could. Hopefully she and Kari would still get along as things got back on track.

He closed his eyes. Sleep grabbed him quickly.

Lexa Pierce, on the other hand, kept up her tabs on a search for Adam Kane. While she worked just as hard as everyone else in rebuilding their lives, Lexa had sent out her queries to her contacts, hoping for some sign. There sadly was no one who knew the whereabouts of Adam Kane, let alone her contacts in the Dominion. She felt truly alone.

Kari kept up her ties as well. She had contacted Charles Xavier when time finally permitted. He was still using Cerebro to try and find Adam Kane, but having no luck. Xavier had explained that since Adam was a clone it was nearly impossible to differentiate between him and The Creator.

Kari kept working on the computer system, one eye on the program process, the other on Jesse. He had been very quiet since he caught her reading his files. She felt that the apology worked, but, she knew he was still a little wary of her. She needed to know though. If something was haunting him, she had to have ways of fighting it.

Eckardt was gone though, their elimination of him still fresh in her memory. He was a malignant spirit wandering through Jesse's biochemistry. She had pulled it out of him.

Jesse had handled that well, so his reaction to this bothered her. Something was very wrong.

She looked up to the chair where Jesse was working. He was still sitting there, but he had done like he had done weeks earlier, he had passed out at the keyboard.

"Jesse?" she asked.

"hmmmmm?" he questioned, not moving, but somewhat still awake.

"You gonna sleep there?" she asked.

He didn't reply, but his breathing patterns had changed to that of a deep sleep. He slumped in his chair and she moved the keyboard so that he could put his head down on the desk. He did just that, fast asleep. She leaned over, kissed him on the forehead, then wandered over to the dojo.

Lexa was already in there, working off stress with a jump rope. She nodded to Kari who stretched then began to slowly run through a kata. They both worked in silence until two very distinct screams broke their concentrations.

"That sounded like Shalimar," Lexa stopped as another scream played down the hallway, Kari running toward the other scream she heard. Jesse.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Legal Disclaimer-Don't own them, probably won't ever, but Kari is mine, MINE!

A/N-So, I'm going to be busy for the next few days, so I figured I would give you a number of chapters to read now....thanks for the reviews.

Here you go....

For Shalimar, she was in a room filled with fire. There was no way out, no way to breathe, and no one she could see. It was totally too hot for her to handle and she knew that she would not make it out alive. Screaming, she ran for what she thought was the door and found Brennan shaking her out of the nightmare. Lexa appeared at the doorway to Brennan's room.

"Shal, SHAL!" Brennan kept saying her name over and over again until she stopped shaking.

She looked at him then hugged him. It was only a horrific nightmare.

"I guess Jesse isn't the only one," she said, trying to humor the worry out of Brennan's eyes, "That was way too real."

Brennan nodded. The nightmares were beginning to control his friends. He put an arm around Shalimar's shaking body. They didn't need words, too many years of teamwork had made it easier for them to communicate. Shalimar stopped shaking and sat on the edge of the cot.

She was about to stand up when she heard Kari's yell.

"Guys, I need some help here, now!"

Kari had run into the computer lab to a convulsing Jesse. When he stopped convulsing he would scream weakly then he stopped completely. She gently lowered him to the floor and put her hand to the side of his face. Closing her eyes, she was back in the scope of his nightmares. This time he was stuck in the stasis pod, a subdermal governor on his neck. His eyes were glazed as he looked at her and she yanked the pod open as fast as she could.

He was nearly lifeless. His knuckles were bloodied again from his attempt to push out of the pod, but this time, he didn't seem to know where he was. She desperately tried to pull him out of this frenzied state then decided that she had to do something she really didn't want to. She entered his mind, seeing that there was no other way to help him.

She was in a room that looked like it was from a mansion. It was nighttime, there was lightning outside and very little light to see. Jesse was sitting in a dark corner, curled in a ball and shaking uncontrollably. She knelt next to him, put on hand on his knee and tried to lift his head. Jesse pulled away from her touch.

"Don't," he said, his voice soft and childlike.

"Jesse, it's okay, it Kari and it's just a nightmare," she said, crossing her legs and sitting next to him.

"Just a nightmare?" Jesse asked after a second, his head lifting. He tried to find the young woman in the darkness, "Why can't I wake up then? Why do I keep going back there? Why do they still do things to me, Kari?"

Kari reached out and touched his knee.

"That's what nightmares do, Jesse, you can wake up, you can control this," she said, "I can control my own dreams, Jess, it just takes practice."

Jesse didn't meet her look. She was talking way too softly for his senses to grasp what was going on. He was terrified to go any further. He pushed her hand away and curled back up into a ball.

"Dammit Jesse, listen to me," Kari had run out of patience. She pulled his head up and looked into the frightened eyes, "YOU ARE OKAY! You fell asleep at the keyboards after trying to set up yet another program for the Underground. Brennan, Shalimar and Lexa are waiting for you back in the conscious world. Outside of here is not occurring."

"Are you sure of that?" Jesse asked.

She nodded at him, finally sensing his agreement. This might be easier than she thought. She got him to his feet and started for the door she knew was in this room. She found it as Jesse gasped. He started to phase, as he did almost automatically at all doors, but she held his hand and begged him to stay with her.

She opened the door to a tall man. One she didn't recognize, but Jesse did. He stepped in front of her and massed, yelling at her to duck.

She did.

"You can stop this Jesse, wake up," she commanded.

Jesse's eyes opened and he discovered that his head was in Kari's lap. Kari was leaning against the wall, her eyes unfocused and open, her right hand on the side of his face. Brennan, Shalimar, and Lexa were all in the lab with them, watching and monitoring. Jesse slowly sat up, breaking contact with Kari's physical link to him, and turned to face her. Her eyes still weren't focusing and he shook her, waiting for her eyes to focus to this reality.

Kari found herself staring at her friends, Jesse in the closest view. He looked scared, but this time it was for her, and not for the situation.

"Who was that?" she asked, her voice raspy.

Jesse took a minute, then turned to the group.

"I think that was Gabriel Ashlocke."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Legal disclaimer-Okay, I don't own any of them except Kari. She's for sale, we'll talk.

Author's Note-Hey Gelf-I don't like him either, but, he's slimy, despicable and sometimes really, really creepy. Did I mention that he was creepy?

Also gang, there be many chapters here that are going to get VERY creepy. Consider yourself warned......

And now, Chapter 7

"Ashlocke?" Shalimar asked shocked, "Jesse, that's not possible, he's long dead."

Jesse sat in the chair he had fallen out of. The scope of his nightmare was playing in his thoughts, and the man's face was one that had occasionally made an appearance. The thought of a mutant who had let the absolute power corrupt them was one for the subconscious, it was his daily reminder to never be like that man.

"I know," he said, not being able to look at any of the team, "Oh, God, I know."

Lexa found the ability to speak.

"Who the hell is Ashlocke?" she asked, "Why would he be after Jesse? How long ago did he die?"

"This doesn't make sense, Jess, why would he come after you? Shalimar, I can believe, but, you? He didn't have anything against you," Brennan found a counter to lean on.

Shalimar walked up to Jesse and put a hand on his shoulder. Jesse couldn't look at any of them, he was having a hard enough time shaking the horror of the nightmare from his senses. It had seemed very real.

"He had it all against me," she said softly, trying to get Jesse to meet her eyes, "Why would he go after you?"

"I'll ask it this time, Lexa," Kari said, arms crossed, "You guys want to fill us in on who Ashlocke is?"

Brennan began to explain.

"Gabriel Ashlocke was the very first Mutant at Genomax. He had all the powers, feral, elemental, molecular and psionic," he punched up a file on the computer, "He also was insane. He thought he was God. He had followers, the power to keep them, and he liked to play with Shalimar's head."

Shalimar shuddered. She had placed him in a far away memory when he died. The thought of him back was not one she relished. Brennan turned.

"That could explain your nightmare," he said, brown eyes meeting tiger eyes.

"Nightmare?" Jesse met Shalimar's gaze.

"Yep, just about the same time as yours," Brennan replied, "Took a little while to get her out of it as well."

Jesse took Shalimar's hand. It was good to not be alone in this.

"Shalimar?" Kari asked, "What happened in your dream?"

Shalimar squeezed Jesse's hand.

"I was in a room full of fire, no way to get out," she replied, settling into the other chair, "I couldn't see any of you, I kept screaming and clawing. I don't like fire."

"Jesse, did you ever see Shalimar in your dream?" Kari asked, thinking aloud.

"No, why?" Jesse raised an eyebrow, not seeing the connection that Kari was trying to make.

"I think this Ashlocke guy's spirit is after you guys," she surmised, rereading the computer file that Brennan had pulled up, "He can't get to Lexa, because she never knew him, and Brennan, well, he's probably next on this guys hit list. I don't know about myself, I never met the guy until just now."

"But how, his spirit is long gone with Sanctuary," Brennan asked.

"Spirits have no body Brennan, I thought you learned that with Emma," she replied, "This Ashlocke, how powerful a mutant was he?"

"Very," Jesse replied, "I was a little taken aback by him."

"Well, then, I suggest we call in the cavalry and get this guy out of your dreams, out of your heads and out of this realm," Kari stated, "You guys mind a little extra help?"

"Depends," Brennan asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"We face him," Kari began, the plan formulating in her mind, "I can bridge all of you into the dreamscape, and we can face him together."

"Not gonna work," Brennan interrupted, "He was only stopped because he blew apart, Kari."

"How powerful are we talking guys?" Lexa asked, "This is a guy we can take, right?"

"I don't know," Shalimar replied, "I thought he was long gone, but if he's back, even in a spirit state, I don't know how we can win against him."

"We don't go to sleep for one," Jesse said, getting up and heading for his terminal, "He's living in the dreamscape, feeding on our terrors, yours Shal, mine, he just hasn't gotten to Brennan, Lex and Kari's yet. It's just a matter of time."

"You're giving up way too fast Jess," Brennan said, trying to figure out what the molecular was hinting at.

"Who said I was giving up?" Jesse glared at Brennan, "Time is something that he doesn't have again, and if I can just find this file, we should be good."

"What are you thinking Jesse?" Kari asked, coming up behind him, "Is there a way?"

"Yeah, there is," Jesse had gone into monosybillic mode, "He's got to face you in the dreamscape. Kari, if we give you all the information on him, everything we can think of, can you do it?"

Kari smiled. She loved a challenge.

While communications had been the most important thing to bring operational in the Underground, the next thing was the medbay. Kari lay there now, flat on her back, electrodes on her temples, being scanned by Jesse for the fourth time that hour.

Brennan and Shalimar had told Kari everything they could about Gabriel Ashlocke. While Jesse scanned, she read what she could about Ashlocke's life and abilities, trying to formulate a plan for attack. While this took hours, she knew that soon enough, the people around her would have to sleep. Jesse drank the strongest coffee that he could stand, yawned every once and a while, and looked at her bleary eyed.

"You done yet?" she asked, trying to meet his gaze.

"Almost," he said, typing in another line of programming, "You've got a great set of brainwaves, Ms. Spiritwalker."

"That almost sounds like a pickup line," she laughed.

"Almost a pickup line," Jesse smiled, "You think you're up to this?"

"A slimy, smooth, extremely powerful dead mutant wants to destroy my friends, and you ask me if I am ready for it," Kari met his gaze, "You sure as hell bet I am."

Jesse grinned. Kari was ready for action. She had the plan, a monitored journey of her walk into the dreamscape. She would go in, access the situation and with Jesse and the rest of Mutant X's help, come back to report on him. The rest of the team, Brennan, Lexa and Shalimar walked into medbay and stopped at the table that she rested on.

"You take this one easy, Kari," Brennan smiled, squeezing her hand, "We want you back, okay?"

"Amen to that, sister, I need to kick your butt in the dojo," Lexa added, "You need to show me how to put Brennan on his rear end."

"Easily done," Kari met their gazes, waiting for Shalimar to chime in.

"He's a bad man, watch your back," she said slowly, "Don't let him see you sweat."

"Gotcha," Kari replied, then closed her eyes.

As she centered herself for the trip into the dreamscape, a trip that she always took very slowly and carefully in her head, she felt another hand take hers. It was Jesse's.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Legal disclaimer-

The following is a work of fanfiction. This is not meant for money, it's meant for sanity. Got it? Good.

Author's Note-Ooooh, Dreamweaver....In all seriousness, this is getting creepy, even for me, just remember, it's the dream/spirit world. ANYTHING is possible. Heh heh heh....

I slink off into the corner, begging for reviews.....tin cup in hand.....

And Now, boys, girls and mutants, here's Chapter 8

The voice was smooth and charming. It was almost intoxicating as she began to follow it, carefully keeping her ties to world she knew in the Underground. Since she had no guide, she knew the chambers she wandered were not her own. Slowly she turned into a small cavern, expecting to see a barren cave, but instead it was filled with candlelight.

The voice continued, asking her to come closer. She stopped for a second.

She stepped into the candlelight.

A man stood there. His eyes met hers and she felt like he was gazing into her very soul. He was dressed simply, a long flowing shirt and loose fitting pants. He was barefoot, but the bare feet on sand didn't seem to bother him. He put out a hand to her.

"Hello Kari," the man said, "I'm Gabriel."

"I figured that out," she replied, standing her ground, "You have a way of making yourself known to those not in the dreamscape."

"Ah, I see you already know all about me," he smiled, almost into a feral grin, "I almost wonder what Mutant X has told you about me. Then again, I already know."

"I heard that as well," Kari sat on a pillow, her feet were beginning to hurt, "You had it all, huh? Psionic, molecular, elemental and feral? No wonder you thought you were a god."

"God? Now that is funny, who thought of that, oh yes, Brennan," Ashlocke settled on the pillow next to hers, "I am no god."

"No, you weren't," Kari said, slowly, her instincts starting to flash warning signals, "But, you lost your mind in the conscious world, Gabriel. You couldn't handle the power."

"Thank you for reminding me, half-breed," he said, inching closer to her, "Instead, I wind up here, a world that I can control. With people that I can control as well. You were right to think that I am the cause behind your friend's nightmares. Tell Shalimar when you see her that fire's only the beginning."

"She told me all about you," Kari stood up.

Back in the conscious world, Lexa watched Kari's readings change. Jesse jumped, and went back to his spot at her side.

"You really care about them, and you care about Kilmartin as well," Gabriel moved closer, his "body" violating her personal space, "They were fools sending you in here."

"I came in here to help them," Kari replied, trying to calm the edge that was growing in her voice, "They have had enough of you."

"Not enough yet, Dear Spiritwalker," Ashlocke brought a hand up to the side of her face, "They don't know all I can do here, and that's your biggest mistake."

The oblivion came quickly. As she fell from his touch, Kari thought quickly of Jesse and Uncle Logan, trying to find her on a cold Arizona night.

In the conscious world, her readings crashed. Her heart still beat, the blood still flowed, but her brainwaves had changed dramatically. Alarms started to sound and Jesse jumped up, gently but quickly tapping the sides of Kari's face, trying desperately to get her to wake up. It wasn't working.

"Something is wrong, Lexa, something is very, very wrong," Jesse said, trying to wake Kari, "Come on Kari, wake up."

"She's in REM sleep, Jesse," Lexa said, reading over the scanners and gently switching the alarms off, "She just crashed right into it. Probably blew the alarms from there."

"No, Lexa, something isn't right," Jesse touched her face again, trying to find some sign of wakefulness.

He gently lifted an eyelid to an unfocused staring brown eye. Kari was still deeply under.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Kari, if you're in there, give me some sort of sign," he said softly, "Come on Kari, where are you?"

He closed his eyes in frustration and tried to think of what to do. He took a deep breath and instead of phasing out, he felt himself start to relax and nearly fall on top of her. Instinct kicked in, he grabbed the chair he had been sitting in and took her hand in both of his. He sat, closed his eyes again and let himself relax further.

"Jesse, what's going on?" Lexa asked from her perch.

"I'm going in," he said quietly, and slumped over, completely and utterly asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer-So, in the legal sense of the word, I don't own these characters, except Kari. She's for sale, contact me for details...

Author's Note-The greatest thing about power is how much power can one stand. They don't call her Spiritwalker for nothing. Thank you to my lovely reviewers. It is because of you that these chapters exist. I thank you.

Chapter 9 starts right here....

In a tent under a star filled sky, the lone man woke up, hoping that his bedding had survived his nightmare. It thankfully had, and the man crawled out of the tent, ready to stare into his dying fire. Thankfully, it was nearly morning, and he knew that he had to get to Vancouver. He was needed, and needed very badly. Kari was in some kind of trouble.

Meanwhile, back in the Underground, Brennan Mulwray's frustration grew as he surveyed the scene. He knew that Jesse's act had been noble, but to have him completely slumped over, asleep, and grasping Kari Spiritwalker's hand in a death grip was something he had no control over. Jesse knew something about her ability that he wasn't sharing. And that was frustrating. Lexa had started looking for some sort of clue as Shalimar kept monitoring Jesse and Kari's vital signs.

She kept looking at Jesse's sleeping face. He looked younger. She brushed a long lock of hair out of his eyes, then settled her fingers on his forehead. He was so fast asleep that the simple act of her brushing the hair out of face, which usually woke him up didn't even phase him.

Brennan had moved Jesse onto a gurney which he pulled next to the bed that Kari was on. Jesse had Kari's hand in a death grip.

"I think I found it," Lexa said from her perch in front of the computer, "Jesse hid a video in here."

She pulled up the video and the three turned to a haggard looking Jesse.

"Alrighty, if you guys are seeing this, something has happened and I'm in there with Kari..." he began...

In the dreamscape he was. He woke to a room filled with candlelight, and Kari laying not too far from him. He got up, walked over to her, and tried to wake her up. This time, it was successful.

She opened her eyes and was surprised to see him. She looked into his eyes, reaching out for his hand. He took it in his and helped her upright.

"Is it really you Jesse?"

"Hi, thought you might need a little company," he said, "You want to get out of here?"

"Yeah, I do, thanks for coming," she tried to smile as she got up, "Sorry to pull you in like this, you okay?"

Jesse's slight smile warmed her heart.

"Never better," he looked around the room they were in, "What is this, some sort of cave, bedroom?"

"Kind of like that, I think," Kari started to step out of the candlelight, "Gabriel lured me in here, then, well, he's a little more powerful than I thought."

"Even as a spirit?" Jesse asked, trying to calculate a new idea to get them out of the dreamscape, "You have any ideas?"

"I have, but, it's complicated," she took him out of the room and into the underground hall that she had followed into the candlelight, "What I want is out of here first, then we can get this figured out."

She lifted her free hand and a flashlight appeared.

"Nice trick," Jesse said, "Any others up your sleeves?"

"I don't know where he is right now," she continued, "I'm concerned about what he might be up to next, Jess, Shalimar was right. This guy is a bad man."

"Bad man, I like that," Gabriel's voice carried through the hallway, "Where do you think you two are going, Spiritwalker? Because out is through me."

Jesse stopped her. He knew the threats from Ashlocke tended to be real and that they may have very well just walked into another trap. He turned to face Ashlocke, who had appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Hello Gabriel," he said calmly.

"Hello Kilmartin," Ashlocke said, his eyes meeting Jesse's, "Think that you're going to get her out of here?"

"We'd like to," Jesse replied, voice dry and even, "You see, we have plans in the real world."

"This is the real world," Ashlocke glared at him, "You can be sent back, but she will stay here, with me."

"Against my dead body," Kari said, her voice growing cold, "I'm going back with him."

"You forget something sweetheart, I'm already dead," Ashlocke grinned, grabbing Jesse's shoulder.

Jesse took a deep breath, trying to phase from Ashlocke's touch, only to disappear completely from the dreamscape.

He woke up to the medlab and Shalimar's face. It took a few seconds to realize where he was.

"Kari? Shalimar," Jesse sat up and looked at the sleeping woman next to him, cringing at the sounds of medical alarms, "Dammit Shalimar, I need to get back in there."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10-Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer-A long, long time ago, a gent named Stanley Leiber started a comic book company and these characters are his. Kari is mine.

Author's Note-Gelf, cringe now, he's still here, and he's not going anywhere in this chapter, just getting even more slimy. For my reviewers, thank you. Thank you, and thank you. You keep me writing and I appreciate it.

Here you go, Chapter 10-

Kari Spiritwalker was in more trouble than she dared believe. It was just supposed to be a simple mission, go in, find out about this guy, and pull out for a later fight. She knew this was one of those situations she would have to go through in life, but she couldn't help feeling that she was really screwed.

She sat up in the main cave room that was filled with pillows, trying to put her plan into action. When Jesse disappeared, she had to take a minute to figure out if Jesse was real or not real. She knew that he was by his attitude, his feelings that were projecting toward her, and the actual phasing that he did. When she saw him use his powers they were by instinct. As were hers.

She closed her eyes and thought about her situation. Gabriel Ashlocke had her over a barrel, he had better control of the dreamscape. He was a spirit, but the thought was how to get him to use his powers and lose the control he had over her situation. She was trying to figure it out when he came in.

He was dressed in a simple following shirt and the same dark pants. He looked at her with a smile.

"So, you get some rest, Kari?" he asked, sitting next to her, "I know that spending time here is beginning to tire you out."

Kari didn't reply. She didn't like that this spirit could read her mind. It was a little unnerving.

"It's okay, my love," he smiled and turned from the room, "You'll join me soon enough."

Kari turned away from him then closed her eyes.

'Darth Vader you aren't,' she thought to herself, bringing up the image of her favorite of the Star Wars movies.

She took a second and thought of Jesse. It was hard to believe that Gabriel banished him, but somehow she knew that Jesse would fight to get her back to the conscious world. She just needed to conserve her energy. She tried to relax and sleep.

Back in the med lab, Jesse was trying everything he could to get her back. He stared at the screen monitoring her vital signs, noticing her sleep patterns changing slightly. She slept on. He didn't know what else he could do. He went in not knowing everything that he could do to help her, since it was such a sudden rush to go in. He knew she needed help, knew that Gabriel had gotten more dangerous in the spirit realm, and he knew that she was losing her grip on this world. He could feel that. Not sure how he felt it, but something was fraying his nerves.

Kari, on the other hand, knew that she could do many things in the dreamscape. She could summon spirits, she could change the location, she could mirror powers of others, but something here just wasn't right.

She stood up and walked toward the doorway to the cavern. She knew that she had to get there, but she expected Ashlocke to greet her. Her surprise was that Jesse was standing there.

"Kari, you have got to get out of here," he said, taking her hands in his, "Ashlocke wants you to stay, and your body can't take it for much longer."

Jesse was right, all this time in the dreamscape was bad for her body. You can only sleep too much. Xavier had taught her that.

"I want to Jesse, but I can't," she said, looking up into his eyes, "I think Ashlocke has figured out a way to block me, and I don't know a way around it."

"You'll have to find one, we want you back, you know," Jesse said, brushing the top of her hair with his hand, "Staying here only makes you weaker. I can't stand watching that."

Something wasn't right. Kari could feel that this wasn't the Jesse she knew. She smiled for a second then slapped him as hard as she could.

Ashlocke laughed. His face changed from Jesse's to his own.

"I told you, half-breed, I control this world, you only think that you do," he caressed her face, "You'll stay with me yet."

In the conscious world, Brennan surveyed the scene, watching the room and watching Jesse. He knew that something was horribly wrong with Kari, she would usually come out of it just after Jesse would in their past didn't this time. Her readings still went up and down, but, she wasn't there. You could open an eyelid and she wasn't even responding to light. It was almost like her body was there, but her essence was elsewhere. He had never seen it before and it was terrifying.

Shalimar felt pretty much the same way. She knew how slimy and surefooted Gabriel Ashlocke could be. She also knew that even though Jesse wasn't admitting it, he loved Kari. That was obvious to her. She also knew that it was obvious to Lexa, who was being kind to him.

She walked up to Jesse and put an arm around his shoulders. Jesse put his hand on hers and never took his eyes off the screen.

"She's stuck in there with him, Shal," Jesse said softly, "I don't know how to get her out of there. He's got such control over it, we should have never sent her in there in the first place."

"She offered to go in there Jesse, there's nothing you can do when you face someone that strong," Lexa rubbed his shoulders, "She would have gone after him without your monitors. You know that."

Jesse nodded. Kari was a strong willed woman who with or without powers was the most of all loyal to her friends. Her powers were still being studied, his time with her being too short for a situation such as this. He needed help.

Brennan and Lexa came into the lab and stopped. She wasn't alone.

"What has she gone and done now?" the man with her asked.

Jesse turned at the sound of his voice. It was way too familiar.

"Logan?" he asked, shocked to see the man there, "What are you doing here?"

"We found him upstairs when the alarms went off," Lexa began, "Said he needed to see Kari immediately."

"She called me in a dream," Logan replied, looking Jesse in the eye, seeing how emotionally drained the younger man was, "I see she did the same to you."

"No, Jesse went in on his own," Brennan interrupted, "She's been like this since Ashlocke pushed him out."

"Pushed you out?" Logan watched the meters that Jesse had pulled up, "Who is this guy, and how are we going to stop him?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow as Jesse turned to look back at the legendary X-Man. It felt like the cavalry had arrived.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11-Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer-I don't own them, the people that do aren't doing much with them right now, so fanfic won't hurt.

Authors Note and Warning....Thank you EVERYONE for reviewing. These chapters are due to your constant comments. Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart. Cliffhanger Warning....There's a small one here, LARGE one coming next chapter.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy Chapter 11

Kari's vitals remained steady enough for Jesse to not worry about her energy level. It seemed like she was napping in the dreamscape, letting her body recharge. He did worry about her brainwaves, but for the past four hours she had held in REM state, he started to calm down. Her body was sleeping. He started to worry about her mind and what the after effects of this might be. It wasn't like her to shut down like this, and for her to call Logan, she must have felt a desperate need.

He didn't have the ability to go into people's minds, being a molecular meant simply that, he could change his own molecules, or that of something he touched.

'Kari's got to be doing this,' he thought to himself, 'She couldn't protect me so she let Ashlocke push me out, but getting back in wasn't working.'

It took Shalimar, Brennan and Logan to drag him away from the monitors so that they could formulate a plan. Lexa watched her monitors.

Kari's past with Mutant X had left them with a database on brainwaves, their effect on the dreamscape, and exactly what Kari could and could not do. If brainwave activity was matched to Kari's and there was physical contact between her and the subject, they could go right into the dreamscape. The person controlling it was the strongest in the dreamscape, in their past tests, that would be Kari. Jesse had learned how to relax and control his brain activity down to walking in the dreamscape with Kari. All he had to do was touch her, and he was in.

He needed to be monitored, because if she crashed while he was in the dreamscape, he would too. It was a risk he was simply willing to take.

Logan was prepared to do whatever it took to go in and help Kari. He explained the long story of how he met the young woman, her abilities he knew then and now, since her sabbatical at Xavier's School. With the addition of Jesse's study of her, they knew that she could get herself out of there, but bringing down Ashlocke would take more energy than she had. She would need their help in any way possible.

Jesse knew this. He was ready to go in and do what it took to save her, but the talents had to come from Kari. The same Kari who wasn't responding to painful stimulus in an attempt to wake her. This was becoming a puzzle that he was beginning to think he couldn't solve.

Shalimar looked at him, wanting the right words to say to let him know that Kari would be okay, but to get Ashlocke, she might have to sacrifice herself. Logan knew it, he knew it the second that he saw her lying on the medbay table.

The plan to get her out was simple. Logan and Jesse would go in, since they had the strongest ties to her, and Logan, being more of a skeptic, had a tie to Kari's mentor, Charles Xavier. If anything happened, Kari could bridge off of Logan to Xavier and defeat Ashlocke. The only worry was how much energy it would drain off of Kari to have both of them connected to her. Shalimar and Lexa volunteered to monitor all of them through the process, Brennan willing to start their hearts if need be to keep them going.

Jesse wanted to call Xavier, but Logan warned him off it, explaining that Xavier was not reachable due to problems with Cerebro. They could call him, but to get him out to the Underground was time that Kari did not have. If they were to go in and get her, they had to do it now.

Jesse was spent. Shalimar knew it by looking at him, and Brennan worried about his surrogate brother. Lexa had remained distant, but found a few moments when he was putting monitors on for the journey into the dreamscape.

"She's okay you know," Lexa said, pulling the medical tape off a heart sensor and putting it on his chest, "You have to believe that."

"I do," Jesse said, trying not to meet her gaze, "I know this has been trying on you Lex. You all right with this?"

"Ask me when it's over," she said, her smile vacant, "It's not everyday you realize that someone you love also loves someone else."

Jesse sighed. Lexa was admitting to loving him. He wanted to scream finally, but at the same time, she was right. He did love Kari Spiritwalker as well. This was not easy.

"When this is all over, we're going to talk," Jesse said, taking her hands in his, "You are special to me as well, Lex. Don't think that you aren't."

Lexa smiled. It was good to see this side to Jesse. He did care.

"Thank you, I needed to hear that," she said, "You matter to me as well."

Logan turned and walked into the med lab. He looked down at their patient and he touched the edge of her face. She didn't respond to his touch. Her skin was warm to the touch, and he heard the distant sounds of monitors. She was out cold.

"Logan?" Jesse asked, breaking the silence that he had held with Kari.

"I would do anything for this woman, Kilmartin," Logan met his gaze, "She was such a little girl when I found her, scared and alone, on a mesa in Arizona. She had wandered off to go follow the voices. Her grandparents were so scared for her, and I knew she was somewhere where she could touch the sky. She made sure that I didn't fall off the mountain when we were heading back to her home, and she also knew that I had a past I don't remember. She's tried through the years to help me in finding this past. Sometimes she's been incredible, sometimes she's been off, but she's willing to help me for me."

"She pulled me out of my worst nightmare," Jesse began, meeting the older man's gaze dead on, his gristled face reflected in Jesse's pale blue eyes, "She taught me how to get out of it, and I think even planted the route into the dreamscape into my head. She brought us all together for Emma, she's run safehouses for years, and Adam held deep respect for her. I'm willing to go in and end this."

"Seems like we have a mission, bub," Logan's smile was hollow, "Let's get her out of there, and then get this Ashlocke."

Jesse shook the outstretched hand. It was a done deal.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12-Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer-I fanfic, therefore I breathe. These characters are not mine. Sorry if I intruded on your legal rights. I am getting no money from this. This has been a recording.

Authors Note-Aniki, you asked for a cliffhanger. This ones for you!

The dreamscape that Jesse knew had changed from the moment he opened his eyes. He marveled at the fact that he had succeeded in getting in again, but, something was not right. First off, Kari was in different clothing than what he remembered. Her usual T-Shirt, jeans and knee length Indian boots were replaced by a dress that he had never seen. Secondly, she was sleeping in the middle of the room he remembered, but the pillows had been replaced by a bed.

He walked over to her, traced the side of her face with his fingers and willed her to open her eyes. She moved, touching his hand and opening her eyes.

"Jesse?" she asked sleepily then backed away.

"Kari, it's me," Jesse tried to stop her from backing off the bed, "I swear it's me."

"How do I know it's you?" she asked, her face full of fear, "You could be him."

Jesse stopped for a second. He had seen this in Shalimar when Ashlocke had played with her head. Ashlocke must have used him to get to her. It was a bit shocking to him to see her that scared, remembering all that they faced in the past. She was not herself.

"Kari, it's me. I swear it's me," Jesse said calmly and softly, "You've known me for about two years now, I first got to know you on vid, when you were running the San Francisco safehouse, you were the one who came into my nightmares to check on me. It's me, Kari, you know it's me."

Kari stared at him, trying to find some logic.

"Kari, I'm not alone," Jesse said, looking up at the visitor to the room.

Logan stepped out of the shadows and put his hand on her wrist.

"Uncle Logan?" she whispered.

"Yes, it's me," he said, "You brought me here."

Kari sat up and took their hands. As she did, her clothing changed. She took a moment and hugged the older man. It was right, it felt like the Logan she knew. She turned to Jesse, hugged him as well, then got off the bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she said, her eyes meeting his, "Ashlocke had me thinking he was you."

"I understand, now let's get you out of here," Jesse said, kissing her forehead, "You really cannot stay here."

"Wait, we have to finish him," Kari turned to Logan, "I have a plan."

"No, Kari, we get you out then we get him," Jesse argued, knowing that they had little time.

Logan stopped and looked at her.

"Do you think it will work?" he asked, staring at her, already knowing the plan.

"If she can't finish him, at least she can put him in a place where he can't hurt anyone again, Logan," Kari stretched out her hand, "Let me do it."

"Do what?" Jesse stopped.

Logan took her hand, Kari's eyes slipped out of focus for a moment, then they were joined in the cave. Logan tried to breathe, but Kari's invasion of his mind was enough to take the wind out of him. Jesse was stunned, Kari was usually more gentle.

"I'm sorry, Logan, I had to do it," she said, "She's the only one who can do this."

Jesse turned around as the spirit that Kari summoned stepped out of the shadows.

She was beautiful and strikingly familiar.

"Oh, my god," Jesse said softly as the realization hit him, "You're Jean Gray."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Legal disclaimer-This is called fanficiton. It's a chance to do what several well paid writers get a chance to do, while I don't get paid for it. Got it? Makes sense? Good. I get NO money from this, just a relived state of mind.

Author's Note-Okay, I know, I know, I have kept you waiting, I have two excuses. One-I went to Dragoncon. Second, I had to plan for Hurricane Frances as well. Not easy. But, I give you this with the knowledge that I am getting to the end of this story. More will come, I promise.

Here's Chapter 13.

Chapter 13

Logan stared at the spirit in question. Kari's ability stunned him. He didn't think that she would go this far, but as she had stated, she was the only one who could defeat Ashlocke. It took his breath away, this was the Jean he remembered.

"Yes, Logan, it is me," Jean took his hands, "Kari's ability is amazing. Thank you for this moment, and what do you need me to do?"

Kari sensed how hard this was for Logan. It was written in the look on his face, his body language and the way he almost didn't believe the spirit in front of him. He was in shock and denial.

"We have to put Ashlocke away," Kari continued, "We need your help."

"He's beyond rationale, isn't he?" Jean asked, looking at the shadows that surrounded their way out, "You know that he is lonely and wants you to stay here with him...right Kari?"

Kari nodded. Jean Grey was always right on the money. Logan was still stunned that Jean was standing in front of him, it took every once of control to not grab her, hug her and let her know that he would gladly stay in the dreamscape for the rest of his natural life if it meant he could stay there with her.

Kari sensed the approach of Ashlocke. Ever since she had let him change their surroundings, he thought he had control. She knew that she had it, but she needed the strength of Jesse and Logan to amplify her abilites, while she also knew that pulling Jean Grey out of Logan would give her the extra boost to handicap him.

"What's your plan?" Jean asked, brown eyes meeting tiger eyes.

"Let his ego be his demise," Kari stated, her stance changing, "He's here."

She turned to face the doorway of the cavern, while Jesse and Logan stood on either side of her. Not even using her own telepathy, Jean knew the best course of how to surprise the villain was to stand behind Kari.

"I see you're not alone, my love," Gabriel started, coming out of the shadows of the doorway, "I will fix that shortly. It seems only fitting that you should say goodbye to the ones in the conscious world, since you will be staying here with me."

"She won't be doing that Ashlocke," Jesse replied, "She's got plans that don't include being your puppet."

"Well, she's not yours, is she, Kilmartin?" Ashlocke grinned, a grin so feral his canines showed, "That's your biggest fear isn't it? Being alone again? Having no one to understand you? That's why I put you in that house all by yourself, no one to talk to, a tremendous storm outside. You are a weakling, Kilmartin. You and your friends can't even save one person from me."

Kari found herself glaring at the spirit. The waves of hatred coming off of him were almost nauseating. He drove deep into Jesse's mind, which, psionics were never supposed to do, and liked using that information against them. She only read a mind when she absolutely had to, it was part of her moral code not to be so invasive. For him to bring up their relationship in front of her was enough to make her see red, and it took everything not blow him off the map.

"Kari, steady," Logan eyed his young protégé, "He's not quite where you want him yet."

Kari turned and looked at Logan. The man was in beserker stance, ready to pounce upon Ashlocke. She felt the spirit of Jean step into her mind, starting to flow with mental games to lock Ashlocke in. She had been slow to remember that Ashlocke had his own demons following him, souls of mutants that he had lead down a dangerous path to their own destruction. They were crying out for justice, she could hear their screams. Jean had a plan, relayed it to her in the fastest speed of thought available and Kari, not being able to do it alone, relayed one word to Jesse.

'When I tell you to, mass.' She screamed in her mind, knowing that the reaction would cause Jesse to shield them at four times the strength of iron.

Gabriel's grin stopped when he first met the mental wall Kari projected, her abilities strengthened by Jean's.

"Very good, I see that your resting has strengthened you," Gabriel spoke to Kari like a parent to a small child, "But your power isn't where it should be against mine."

"Nice bravado, you watch too many science fiction movies when you were alive, bub?" Logan asked, his voice flat yet slightly threatening.

"No," Gabriel replied, "My childhood wasn't even close to being that stable, I wasn't as lucky as these two. I didn't have the life of privilege that Kilmartin had, and well, Spiritwalker here got to know her parents. So, don't go pitying me."

"There's no pity, just caution," Logan said, his voice still low and steady.

"There should always be caution," Ashlocke said, putting his hands together to form a perfect energy ball, "You never know what I can do."

Logan turned and let his adamantium claws extend to full strength.

"Uncle Logan don't," Kari said softly, "He's insane."

Logan looked at the young woman and smiled.

"So am I," he stood in front of her and crossed his arms.

Jesse took the cue from Logan and held his breath, causing his body to mass at four times the strength of iron. Kari breathed in herself, steadied her mind and let go. Every ounce of anger, every emotion of hatred that she had buried in her mind she threw at Ashlocke.

The sensation caused Jesse to loose his breath, the energy flowing through him like lightning, while Wolverine went after the cave walls around Ashlocke. They started to crumble around him, while Ashlocke threw energy at Wolverine. Ashlocke was unable to successfully hit him since Wolverine moved too fast for him as well as blocked most of his shots, reminding Kari of something out of Star Wars.

The rest of plan that Jean had for Ashlocke fell into place in Kari's thoughts. She knew the emotion of what they had to do would hurt Jesse, but it simply had to be done so that they could be rid of Ashlocke once and for all. Kari relayed the information to Jesse, mind to mind, gently entering his thoughts so that they wouldn't hurt.

The mere thought of killing anything, living or in the spirit world still bothered Jesse to his very core. He felt Kari enter his mind and her sorrow at what was suggested. It was his own worst nightmare come to life. He turned, looked at her, then let his breath go. In that one moment, he knew it was the only thing to do. He was back to his human form, breathed in again, and phased, touching the walls that surrounded the cavern. The walls reacted like they did in the conscious world, turning into mere particles.

Logan sensed the plan of Jean's and grabbed the man he fought, throwing him as hard as he could into the wall that Jesse phased. Jesse let go, encasing Ashlocke into his own cavern. They had buried him alive.

Jesse began to breathe normally, trying to hold back the emotion of the moment. He had just killed this spirit by using his own worst nightmare of being encased alive. Part of him knew that he should be extremely happy by this action, but all he really wanted to do was cry. He turned from what he had done, looked at Kari who looked up at him, her eyes reflecting his pain and horror.

"I'm so sorry," she mouthed as she crumpled to the ground.

Brennan jumped up as Kari's vitals sagged. Her heart stopped beating, as Logan's and Jesse's readings followed by dropping. Brennan knew what he had to do, and forming a tesla coil, he placed his hands on Kari's chest. Her heartbeat came back almost instantly, with Logan's and Jesse's vitals returning to normal.

Jean caught her as she fell, handing her to Logan as he rushed to help. Jean placed a hand to the back of her neck and tried to read her.

"Jesse," she said, looking up, "You have got to go and take her with you. NOW."

Jesse took Kari into his arms. He knew that this was now Kari's life they were dealing with. He met Logan's glance and instantly sympathized with the older man. Logan was torn between staying here and going back. Jean looked at Logan, took his hands in hers and smiled at him.

For Logan, this dream was simply becoming the worst nightmare of his life, Jean Grey was being taken away from him again.

"She needs you more than you can ever know, Logan," Jean took a hand and placed a hand on the side of his head, "You need to remember that I am with you always."

Logan closed his tear-filled eyes and sighed. She was right. He took a hold of Kari's limp hand.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Legal Disclaimer-To put it ever so simply-This is a work of fanfiction, no money is being made from this work, all rights except those belonging to Kari Spiritwalker (she's mine) belong to Marvel Entertainment and whomever else these characters belong to.

Authors Note-Animiga! Nice to see you! And I love what you're writing as well. I warn all of you that some serious angst is about to unfold, thanks to the chance to rewatch X-Men the movie. The mere thought of Jesse and Logan at an overlook is a nice one. No slash involved, just two superheroes just having a meaningful conversation. The line at the end (and don't you dare skip ahead) is paraphrased from a deleted scene talked about but not found in X-Men 1.5.

Gelf, Aniki, thank you for sticking with me for so long!

Here's Chapter 14

Jesse opened his eyes to the faces of his friends. Shalimar stared back at him. Brennan squeezed his shoulder and Lexa touched his left hand. He jumped, realization of what had just happened sinking in. He was back in a world that he knew, and he found himself looking across at Logan, who was also just waking up.

Logan was quiet, nodded to him to let him know he was glad to see him, but the reality of what just happened was hitting him and it hurt. Badly. The look he gave him was of pain to his very soul. Jesse knew that they would talk later.

In turn, they both looked at Kari. Jesse gently traced the side of her face, silently praying that her eyes would open. She reacted to his touch, slowly turning her head and opening her eyes. They were focused and clear. She sat up slowly, taking Jesse's hand in hers.

"Hey there," she said softly, her voice cracking, "Nice to see you in the land of the living."

"Isn't that my line?" Logan said, his smile the first emotion that Jesse had seen in the last few minutes.

Kari met Logan's look. She instantly knew that he was in pain, but he was relieved to see her awake.

She looked at the rest of her friends, who looked back at her with relief and happiness in their eyes. It was good to see them, but she was exhausted.

"Guys, thank you," she said, "I'm okay, but I need to sleep."

"Dreamlessly, I hope," Shalimar said, as she, Brennan and Lexa stepped forward, "You've earned it."

"Yeah, I guess I have," she said, yawning, "Give me a few hours and I'll be back to normal."

It was hours later and Jesse Kilmartin knew the one thing he really didn't want to do was sleep. He needed to walk, get away from this underground area and see the world above. Maybe it was claustrophobia, or a divine need to breathe clean air, but Jesse walked outside of the mountain cabin that played entrance to the Underground. He quickly found the mountain path that led to the lake. Walking it slowly and carefully, he knew that some time alone would help. He came to the break in the tree line, finding himself staring at the beauty of the lake. He also discovered that he wasn't alone.

"Sorry, Logan, didn't mean to disturb you," Jesse instantly apologized, sensing the older man's need for solitude.

"You didn't, I smelled you coming," Logan didn't turn around, "She awake yet?"

"No, I think she'll be out for a few more hours," Jesse's reply was followed by a short smile, "She needs the recharge."

"She earned it. How are you doing?" Logan asked, "That was pretty intense in there."

"Same question I was going to ask you," Jesse said, leaning against a tree.

"Sit down Kilmartin," Logan continued, "You can."

Jesse acknowledged the offer and sat down next to Logan, who he now noticed was smoking a cigar. The thin smoke weaved it's way into the air and hung there. Jesse found himself staring at the wisps of smoke and enjoying the silence.

"It's beautiful here," Logan said, his voice quiet and low, "I can see why Kari likes it here. I feel at home."

Jesse smiled. He always felt at peace near mountains, even though he was more of a city boy. He breathed in the fresh air, letting it clear his mind.

"She really cares about you," Logan continued, not looking at Jesse, but looking at the lake, "I know you know that. She told me that at Xavier's."

"I know," Jesse replied, "It's complicated."

"Life is complicated, kid," Logan laughed, "And I am not one to be giving out relationship advice. Just don't hurt either one of them"

'_The triangle is that obvious,' _Jesse thought to himself.

"Never," Jesse sighed, turning to study the body language of the older man, "You okay?"

"No," Logan's reply was short and curt, full of pain, "I don't know if I ever will be."

Jesse didn't reply. Logan would talk if he wanted to, and this place was more for regrouping that talking. He sat in the silence with the man, thinking about his own situation. He had killed a spirit. He knew that taking a life was something that he hoped never to have to do, and this was equivalent to it. He respected life even more since he joined Mutant X and had done more to protect it in the short years that he had been with his surrogate family. Killing Ashlocke had never been part of the equation for him, and the idea of killing him with his worst nightmare was unimaginable. His skin still crawled with the idea of being trapped inside a wall of rock. Logan broke the silence.

"You okay kid?"

"I should be," Jesse didn't meet his gaze, intent as he was on staring at the water, "Just don't like killing spirits or people."

"No one does," Logan replied, "This guy needed to be stopped though. Kari saw that, you saw that, and Jean saw that."

The amount of pain in Logan's voice was enough to remind Jesse of his love for Emma. Love unrealized was the worst pain because if you let it linger, it will eat you alive. To lose that person who you loved from afar was worse, because it would never be realized.

"Jean Gray was an amazing woman," Jesse said after a moment, "I wish I could have known her."

"You would have liked her," Logan's sorrow was replaced by a slight smile, "Kari reminds me an awful lot of her."

Jesse glanced at Logan. Kari would love to hear that, but he knew that Logan would never tell her. Logan kept his emotions so in check that he was an impossible read. He had a soft spot for Kari, the main reason he would never know, but, he treated her more like a protective uncle than an older brother. Jesse knew she adored him.

"Whatever you decide, respect and appreciate her," Logan turned and met Jesse's eyes, "She deserves that."

Jesse nodded. Logan was correct. He had to make the decision this time. Last time, the time she spent with them at the old Sanctuary was interrupted with the chance to study and be studied at Xavier's institute. Kari had jumped at the offer, but, missed Jesse and the team terribly and went back to safe house management after some control over her powers had been established with Xavier's help. She had kept in touch with Jesse the whole time, but, distance had not allowed a relationship. He had grown closer to Lexa during that time, but, he had to admit that he really loved Kari. Just how he loved her was a problem. He didn't know if she was a friend, a potential lover, or a soul mate. He couldn't figure it out.

"You guys have it lucky, you have three great friends in there to help you with all this," Logan put his cigar out in his hand, "I was alone for a long time before I wound up with the X-Men."

Jesse nodded again. Through the past few weeks, he had grown even closer to his surrogate family, through the second loss of Adam, the destruction of Sanctuary, his own nightmares coming to life in front of him, and Kari's return had strengthened them, not destroyed them. They didn't know what had happened in the dreamscape, they just knew he needed their help and they gave it freely. They banded together to help him. He hoped they would understand what he had to do and why he did it. He stared at the water.

"Jesse, you had to do what you did," Logan put a hand on his shoulder, "He would have killed us all in there. We would all be vegetables in the medlab if we lost Kari, and he knew it. Spirit or not he wanted our lives. He was alone and wanted company and was willing to get it by killing Kari."

Jesse nodded. He didn't feel like speaking, but he knew that Logan was right. He killed because he had to. It was survive or die, it was that simple.

"She's alive, you're alive and I'm alive," Logan continued, "You just have to remember it. It's worth it. There's so many times I have wanted to end all this because of who I am that well..."

Jesse met Logan's glance.

"I would show you the scars but they tend to fade away."

Jesse and Logan turned out to stare at the water. They shared a common burden, but the relief was that they could now share. Shalimar's voice broke the silence.

"Jesse, she's awake," came Shalimar's voice from his comm ring.

Jesse didn't need to ask Logan, they went back down to the medlab together, in an appreciated silence.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Legal Disclaimer- Simply put-I own nothing. These characters are owned by Marvel, Avi Arad, Alliance Atlantis and well, they don't know that I am wandering in their world.

Authors Note-Aniki, I'm not done yetâabout three chapters from now I will be, but not now.

A tidbit of a love scene here, so, let's think heavy PG-13âHide the kids..

Chapter 15

She found herself strong enough to be awake sitting in the medical lab at the Underground. When she had opened her eyes for the second time, her friend Shalimar was looking at her, a smile forming on her face, brightening eyes that had seen too much torment.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she said, "You doing better this time?"

Kari nodded. Water would help the dry feeling she had her in throat. Shalimar read her mind because a glass of water appeared in her hand almost instantly.

"Thanks," she said softly, "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Shal replied, helping the smaller woman sit up, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she answered, pulling her feet around to eventually stand up, "Where is everyone?"

"Brennan and Lexa turned in a while ago," Shalimar helped her stand up, "Logan and Jesse both went for walks. They needed some quiet time. I think they're together."

"And you got watch the patient duty?" Kari smiled, thanking Shalimar for the help up, but waving her away as she walked toward the kitchen area they had set up, "Thank you Shalimar, sorry to put you through all this."

"You're welcome Kari," Shalimar was eyeing her patient, the younger woman was steady on her feet, "Hungry?"

"Yep," Kari had made it into the kitchen, and searched the small refrigerator, "I feel like I have slept for years."

"There's some sushi on the top shelf," Shalimar grabbed a cup of some newly made coffee, "I made it last night."

"Thanks," Kari said, digging into the cut fish.

"Kari, what happened in there?" Shalimar asked, "I wanted to ask you before the guys come back."

"It's a long story," Kari started, sitting in a chair at the table they all used, "Jesse, Logan and Jean Grey saved my life. It's hard to tell it, but Jesse had to encase Ashlocke in rock to stop him."

"Encase in rock?" Shalimar paled. Jesse had told her once that was his worst fear with this power, that one day he would get stuck and never be able to come out of it.

"Yeah, I know," Kari said, agreeing with the silent protest in Shalimar's mind, "How is he about it?"

"He didn't mention it to me," Shalimar sighed, this explained more about Jesse's attitude and desire to be alone.

"I'll wind up talking to him about it," Kari said, drinking a bit of the tea that Shalimar put in front of her, "When he's ready."

"You ready to talk about it?" Shalimar asked, settling into a chair next to her, "Rough stuff in there?"

"Gabriel Ashlocke must have been a very evil man in life," Kari said, not able to face Shalimar's glance, "He tried to seduce me many times. It wasn't that easy to fight him off."

"It's taken me a long while," Shalimar said, "He got in my head very easily."

"Me too," Kari turned to face her, "He used every avenue possible though, even made himself to be Jesse at one point."

"How did you know it was him?"

"Simple, Jesse never asked me to slow dance with him ever."

Shalimar's sympathetic look was mixed with curiosity; it must have been an interesting time in the dreamscape. Kari smiled at her with a 'It will take far too long to explain the rest' look.

"Sounds interesting, you okay?" Shalimar asked, seeing how far she could press the younger woman.

"I will be, you said that Jesse and Logan were up top?" Kari was filling up on sushi and ready to see how they were.

"They should be back down, I called them when you woke up," Shalimar turned to the sound of the two men joining them. Jesse smiled and headed for the kitchen while Logan stopped in front of the table.

"Hey there, look at you," Logan started, a sincere smile growing on his face, "You better?"

Kari looked at Logan. He was smiling for once. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, sure am," Kari's replied, "You?"

Logan sat next to her. He put his hand on hers and looked into her eyes.

"Yes, I am."

She smiled slightly. Shalimar excused herself and went into the kitchen. Jesse was looking in the refrigerator, his back to her.

"It's good to see her awake," she began, waiting to see Jesse's reaction.

"Yep, sure is," he said, his attention diverted by his search for food, "Thanks for letting me know she was awake."

"You're welcome," Shalimar moved forward, putting a hand on his back, "You need any help in there?"

'_Not in here,_' he thought to himself.

"No," he said softly, "Thanks though."

Shalimar turned and left him, still searching in the fridge for something to eat. He didn't hear her come in, but he knew she was there. She put the dish she ate from in the sink and leaned against the edge of the counter.

"You gonna hide in there or talk to me," Kari began, seeing him stop when he realized that she was there.

He turned, and stood up, all the fixings for a sandwich in his hands.

"I'll talk to you, Kari," Jesse began, putting the food down on the counter.

He then took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was a long deep kiss that lasted a few moments and shocked Kari. He pulled back from the kiss and looked into her eyes that were both mixed with confusion and shock.

"I've been wanting to do that since you came back," he said, "Now, what did you want to talk about."

Kari forgot everything she had in her mind to talk to him about.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Legal Disclaimer-This is a work of Fanfiction. The rights belong to Marvel, Alliance Atlantis, and folks who I don't know. They don't know me, I don't know them, and I don't have money, so don't sue me.

Authors Note-OKAY, HERE'S THE WARNING-THIS CHAPTER IS PG-13 Heavy on the 13. There are things that might get me in trouble here, so, if you notice a large hole in the middle of this, the reason is that it's well, for adults at a certain point. Don't ask me to tell you...you can figure it out.

Chapter 16

Kari tried to find the ability to breathe. The emotion behind the kiss, mostly desire, longing and fear were completely and totally overwhelming.

"You okay?" Jesse asked, a sly smile crossing his lips.

"I don't know whether to slap you or let you do that again," Kari returned the smile, "You've been holding that back for a while."

"Yep, sure have," Jesse laughed. It felt good to laugh again.

"You going to be okay after all of this?" Kari asked, her change of subject more of concern than the emotion just shared.

Jesse stepped back, never breaking contact with her eyes.

"I don't know," he said.

She reached for his hands. They were calloused from overtyping, but they were shaking.

"Jesse," Kari started, "You had to. There was no other way. Don't go killing yourself over this, he's a spirit. You can't kill spirits but you can stop them. You did. You saved my life in the process. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Jesse's response was barely audible, "Thank you for helping me see that I could do that."

Kari didn't answer, just gathered him in her arms. He needed the hug more than he would admit, and the sheer closeness of her, alive, in the flesh in front of him, real time was a relief that he was having trouble putting words to.

On the other side of the cave wall, Logan smiled at Shalimar.

"So, they tell me that you are a feral," he began, taking a sip off of the tea that Shalimar poured for him, "How's your fighting level? You have any preferences?"

"I can take you," she smiled back, her eyes begging him for the challenge, "If you want the chance."

"In a heartbeat, miss," Logan returned her look, "Name the time and place."

"In a little while," she looked toward the kitchen, "You think he'll be okay? She seems all right."

"Well," Logan began, "He's upset, but, I think he just needs time for soul searching. He killed and cannot help that. It's just putting it all into place. Not easy for him, easy for me."

"Kill or be killed?" Shalimar asked.

"Yes," Logan's reply was curt, "So, when do you..."

"There's a dojo right down the hall," she smiled.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Jesse and Kari simply held each other. The trauma of almost losing Kari and the acts that repulsed Jesse caused them to want to comfort each other.

Kari knew that she wanted to cry and cry badly. The emotions of her nearly dying had finally hit and she knew that she had dodged a bullet. Jesse cared for her, she felt that the second he touched her. He was scared to lose her. She finally discovered that she was scared to lose him.

Kari pulled away from him and slowly looked into his eyes.

"We have got a lot to talk about," she said, "And I don't think that I want to talk about it now."

"I don't think I want to either," Jesse said softly, "You want to go somewhere alone?"

Kari smiled, took his hand and walked down the hallway to his room.

Chapter 17

The hardest thing for Shalimar to dodge was the claws. She backflipped over Logan's charge, her bare feet playing on the edge of dojo wall. She flicked his wrist away from attack then spun, her elbow hitting him in the chest.

Logan laughed.

"Wow, you're very good."

"That's what I have been told."

Logan lunged for her, full berserker style. She ducked under his attack then hit him in the small of the back. He turned, grabbed her wrist mid turn and flattened her on her back.

"And you're very good as well."

Logan stopped and smiled. He let go of her wrist and extended his hand, pulling her up.

"Thank you," she said, sitting up, "Nice workout."

Logan reached for the towel that Shalimar put on the bench for him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and his face, as Shalimar did the same with her towel.

"You think those two are okay?" he asked, thinking more aloud that making it an actual question.

"I hope so," Shalimar said, patting Logan on the shoulder, "You want to go again?"

They both flashed feral grins at each other.

Jesse and Kari were wrapped up in each other's arms, staring at the lights in the cave room that Jesse called home. They had held each other quietly, not talking about what had just happened, just savoring the moment that both of them were together, and alive.

Jesse was alone in his thoughts as Kari tried not to dose. He could feel her heartbeat, her warmth, and her spirit close to his. She had known immediately what he wanted and hadn't been afraid to share her soul with him, that was a bond he knew that he would always have. Lexa crossed his mind. He felt like he had betrayed her.

"We probably won't work out," Kari said aloud.

Jesse felt cold.

"Will you get out of my head, please," he said softly, "You know better than that."

"I wasn't," Kari said, her voice growing cold, "You have a life here that I don't fit into. Face it Jess, we aren't meant to be."

"I don't believe that, Kari," Jesse said, sitting up, "You aren't going to tell me that we don't have something between us."

"No, I'm not going to tell you that, Jesse Kilmartin," Kari said, shifting so that she didn't fall out of the bed, "We have a bond, that's been well demonstrated in the past few days, and I am not denying it."

"Why are you saying that we aren't going to work then?" Jesse kissed her shoulder, "You think we're doomed?"

"No, Jesse," Kari looked at him, "We're not doomed, we're just not meant to be. You have a life here with Shalimar, Brennan and Lexa."

"And they want you to be part of it," Jesse said, "Only if you want to be."

"Jesse, I left once," Kari sat up, gathering the sheets around her body, "I don't want to leave again, but I know that I will have to. We're too close. With me here, the risk is run of you having to face the same guys twice. I don't want that to happen to you, demons are only meant to be faced once."

"Sometimes twice," Jesse interrupted, "You deserve to be happy, Kari."

Kari found the tears that had been hiding behind her eyes.

"Thank you, Jesse," her voice cracked, "You make me very happy."

"Then enjoy the moment," he said, gathering her back in his arms, "We'll think about the future in the morning."

Kari settled back in his arms and did just that.

The End


	17. Epilouge

Epilogue

Legal disclaimer-The rights belong to those who own them. I own Kari.

Author's Note-We'll never know, will we?

After her rough workout with Logan, Shalimar knew that sleep was just moments away as she climbed into her bed. She settled under the sheets, closed her eyes and let herself go dreamless. Or so she thought.

She found herself in a candlelit warehouse, much like a distant memory she had chosen to forget. The candles were the same, the smells were the same, and the voice she knew was long dead returned.

"Hello Shalimar," Gabriel Ashlocke said, walking toward her, "I'm just saying hello, just wanted to tell you that I am still here."

"But you're dead," Shalimar said, "You have been killed twice."

"I'll never die, Shalimar," Gabriel said, his smile turning feral, "You of all people should know that."

Shalimar woke up and stayed awake for a while, staring into the darkness. She knew she could put him back in the cage of her mind, where he couldn't be heard from again, but was he really dead.


End file.
